The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-05-19
AN INCIDENT OF THE WAR.
How Two Actors Met by Chance.
(From the Chicago News.)

(From the Chicago News.)
Gus Mortimer, the manager of Louis
James, who is lately from New Orleans,
says that the Southern people are in
tensely disgusted with the recent utter
ances of JEFF Davis. Beauregard was
and is still great favorite with the
Southerners, and they resent any slight
Upon him. Mortimer who was in the
Confederate army and in Beauregard's s
command, says that he was the most
popular rebel officer, although he was an
extra strict disciplinarian. During the
| first winter of the war Beauregard com.
manded the armies of Virginia, and the
weather was intensely cold. The men
were volunteers of course, and entirely
unused to the hardships of war, and they
fell sick in great numbers, and, what
was worse, became dull and dispirited.
Profiting by the example of the first
Napoleon, Bcauregard hit upon the plan
of este blishing theatre in tho camp for
the amusement of the troops. Mortimer
was selected to organize the company
and the work of erecting the theatre was
begun. The man who was entrusted
with the funds necessary to engage the
company skipped South and deserted
with the money, and the movement of
the Federal army broke up all the plans.
During the war, Mortimer says, the
theatres in the South coined money,
The horrors of the siege were mitigated
and sometimes added to by dramatic per-
formances, and when m army entered q
town the first thing it did was to organ
lze company and play in tho theatre.
Some OF the armies contained enough
soldicr-actors for very fair sized com
nonv and in Coma nocoo ,olou. x,n,o 40
hearsed ahead, but oftener still tho com
pany was non-military and belonged to
the theatre or travelled about seeking to
The prices charged were so cents for
privates and 81 for officers and the
houses were universally packed. The
audiences were enthusiastic and general
ly in tho very best of humor, so much SO
as to make it rather difficult to play.
Mortimer was paroled, and played off an
picked up companies-hal professional,
half amateur, and all sorts of sectional
ism and politics. Once at Corinth he
played "Richard Ill" in linen duster;
but the audience didn't seem to mind
the discrepancy bit, and insisted on
his coming forward in the tent scene and
singing the "Star Spangled Banner and
'In the Prison Cell | Sit" On the
night of the second days battle of the
Wilderness Mortimer was on picket
duty. He had not eaten morsel for
over thirtysiX hours, and he was nearly
dead with hunger, and very faint, having
but recently come from the hospital. It
had been the wont of the soldiers TO sup
ply the place of food with copious chews
of plug tobacco, and MOrtimer's pockets
were full of the weed but the doctor had
forbidden him using it. He was stand
ing by tree, faint and despairing, and
in the agony of his situation exclaimed
aloud:
"Id give the biggist plug of tobacco
in the world for piece of hard tack"
"lll take you at yorf word, Johnny
Reb," exclaimed hearty voice, and be-
fore Mortimer could bring his gun to his
shoulder form sprang out of the dusk
and stalwart zouave stood before him.
"Ivo been watching you for some
time" continued the Northern man,
"and thought you saw me and was get
| ting ready to pot me till [ heard you
speak" The zouave had unslunP his
knapsack and displayed before the fam
ished rebel what seemed to him q ban
quet. "And now, young fellow" he
said, eff you'll give mea plug of tobacco
you can have all the hard-tack your jaws
can crack. Fork over" Such exchanges
were common, and Mortimer clutched
the food and passed over a plug of Vir.
ginia tobacco, which was as eagerly re,
ceived by the zouave. They talked O
moment or two, ant. then, realizing theil
danger, prepared to part. Mortimer in,
cident9lly told his companion his name
and calling. The other was surprised
and said he was an actor, too.
/ GEYn11 nrn0N nnkn1 AInsl;.. -. 11.n